Hub attachment.



PATENTED DEC. 16, 1903.

L. NEAL. 'HUB ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25, 1903.

NO MODEL.

m m a Tatented December 15, 1903..

IaTnNT FFICE.

LUOIlAN NEAL, OF DESOTO, OHIO.

HUB ATTACHMENT. 7

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 747,082, dated December 15, 1903.

Application filed April 25, 1903. Serial No. 154,324. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUOIAN NEAL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Desoto, in the county of Brown and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hub Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a means for removing and applying the axlenuts of carriages and like vehicles without the use of a wrench and at the same time a structure which prevents the entrance of dust or other foreign matter into the axle-box and adjacent parts, which ordinarily is detrimental to the proper working of the said parts.

The invention consists, more essentially, in the provision of peculiar means for looking the axle-nut to the hub of the wheel, whereby upon manipulation of the latter to rotate in either direction the same may be utilized in a manner as a wrench to screw the nut off or on the spindle of the axle.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a sectional view of the parts assembled, the axle-nut and the locking means between the same and the hub being disposed in their normal position out of engagement. Fig. 2 is a perspective view looking toward the end of the vehicle-hub. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lock plate, showing the nut and spindle end.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

As shown in the drawings, the attachment may be applied to the ordinary form of axle 1, provided with a spindle 2. The hub 3 is held upon the spindle by the slotted axle-nut 4:, and a washer 5 is preferably disposed between the aXle-nut and the hub-band 6. The hub-band is of the usual type, preferably band by suitable means, preferably a setscrew 9. The cap 8 is flanged at its outer end, as shown at 10, and a lock-plate 11 is disposed between the'flange 10 of the cap and the axle-nut, being housed by the said cap in a manner clearly shown. The lock-plate 11 is provided upon its inner face with a lockbar 12, which is adapted to lock the hub and the axle-nut when it is desired to remove or apply the latter. A coil-spring 13 is located within the housed portion of the hub-band and between the lock-plate and the washer 5 and normally holds the lock-plate from engagement with the axle-nut to permit rotation of the wheel without movement of the said axlenut.

The operation of the device is simple. When it is desired to remove the aXle-nut, the parts being disposed as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, the lock-plate is pressed inwardly against the tension of the coil-spring 13, and the lock-bar carried by the said lock-plate is engaged with the slot 14 of the axle-nut, and the end portions of the said lock-bar extending beyond the edges of the lock-plate are engaged with the T-shaped slots 7. The axlenut being thus locked by means of the lockplate to the hub-band, and thus to the hub itself, the wheel is revolved to the left, and the axle-nut is thereby unscrewed,being, however, stilllocked to the hub and to a certain extent forming a part thereof. The application of the nut is the reverse, the lock-bar of the lock-plate being disposed at the opposite ends of the T-shaped slots, and revolution of the wheel to the right after the same has been disposed upon the spindle of the axle will of course screw the nut upon the said spindle. The nut being screwed sufficiently hard, the lock-plate 11 is given a slight turn so as to disengage the ends of the lock-bar from the T-shaped slots 7 of the hub-band 6, and under the influence of the coil-spring 13 the lockplate is sprung out of engagement with the slot 14 of the axle-nut and disposed in its normal p'ositionnamely, against the flanged portion of the cap 8. The cap 8, together with the lock-plate 11, serves to effectually house the open end of the hub and prevents entrance of foreign matter, as premised heretofore.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a slotted axle-nut, of a hub provided with a slotted hub-band, acap disposed upon the hub-band, a lock-plate disposed between the cap and the axle-nut, looking means carried by the said lock-plate and adapted to interlock with the slotted portion of the axle-nut and the slotted portions of the hub-band, whereby the said axle-nut may be actuated by movement of the hub, and a coilspring disposed between the lock-plate and the axle-nut and adapted to normally hold the locking means aforesaid out of interlocking engagement.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a slotted axle-nut, of a hub provided with a slotted band, a cap disposed upon the hub-band and provided at its outer end with an inwardly-extending flange, a lock-platedisposed within the hubband and provided with locking meansadapted to interlock with the slotted portion of the axlenut and the slotted portion of the hub-band for application or removal of the axle-nut, and a coil-spring disposed within the hub-band between the lock-plate and the axle-nut and adapted to normally hold the lock-plate out of the interlocking engagement aforesaid, the lock-plate being limited in its outward movement by the aforesaid flange of the cap.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination, with a slotted axle-nut, of a hub, a hub-band provided with slots of T- ,shaped form, a cap rigidly disposed upon the hub-band and provided at its outer end with an inwardly-extending flange, a lock-plate, a lock-bar disposed upon the inner face of the lock-plate and having its end portions ex,- tending beyond the edges of the said lockplate, the said bar being adapted to have its body portion interlock with the slotted portions of the axle-u ut and its end portions with the slots upon the hub-band for causing looking engagement of the axle-nut with the hub, and a coil-spring interposed between the lockplate and the axle-nut and adapted to normally hold the lock-bar out of engagement with the axle-nut and the hub-band.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LUGIAN NEAL. [L. 8.] Witnesses:

F. P. POWELL, L. E. Now). 

